Improvement in surgeons  operating-tables



l i l UNITED STATES PATENT OEETcEC x THOMAS MOILROY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

l` VIMPROVEMENT IN SURGEONS OPERATING-TABLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,132, dated August I, 1865.

T0 all 'whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that I, THOMAS McILnoY, ofthe city, county, and State oi'New York, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Surgical Operating-Tables, and I do herebyr declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description ofthe nature, construction, and operation ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which are made part of this specication, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical central section on the line a', I `ig.2. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view.

The sa lne letters referto corresponding parts in the two gures.

The object of my improvement is a table by the adjustment of which the patient may be presented' to the surgeon in a position favorable for the performance ot' the operation.

To enable one skilled in the branch ot' manufacture to which my invention appertains to construct and use the same, I will proceed to A A indicate the portions of the frame-work ofthe table, which frame consists ot legs and cross-pieces supporting the table B B', which is hinged at O to the frame. The portion B of the table is hinged to the portion B at D, and leg-supports E E are attached to B' by pivot- ]'oints F, which are tightened by means ofnuts G beneath. The legsupporters E E' have hinges H, which permit the vertical adjust ment of the portion E relatively to the portion E. The backsupport I is hinged to slides J, which tit within slots Kin the table A and are movable therein forward and backward, being secured in the required longitudinal position by means ofthe set-screws L.

From the Fig. 1 it will be readily perceived that while the back is supported at the required inclination by the frame I, B E support the thighs, and E' the lower leg and foot, the hinge D corresponding to the articulation of the hips and the hinges H to that ofthe knees.

I will now, describe the adjusting arrangement, which consists of four distinct motions and set of appliances, considering that pertaining to the knees as one, it being merely duplication, I Will commence with the adjustment ofthe table B, upon or to which all the other adjustable portions are supported or attached.

such, for instance, as lithotomy. When it is i desired to raise thc body ot' the patient to an inclined position itis effected by the crank M l and pinions N, the teeth of which latter mesh into those ofthe rack O, and the required adjustment being reached, is maintained by the pawl I?, which engages the rag-wheel Q. The portions supporting the legs of the patient are moved vertically and simultaneously by means of thelever R, which has its fulcrum at S, and a connecting-rod, T, pivoted at U to a lug underneath the thigh-piece B. By downward pressure on this lever the said thigh-piece and the leg-extensions are raised, and the required set is maintained by means of a spring-pin, a, which en gages the leverR to the segmentbarV.

The table, when inclined, may be all in the same plane, or it may have the hip-deflection shown in Fig. 1. But if desired to preserve the same plane throughout the length from head to foot, the portion below the hips or hinge D in ust be lowered by means of the lever R, as thetableisinclined byvibration onitshingeC.

I have betere observed that the leg-extension pieces E have a pivotal attachment to the piece B, and the object of making the leg-extensions adjustable in a horizontal plane, or iu a plane parallel to that ot1 the piece B, `is to enable the legs to be separated for lithotomic operations, high am putations of the thigh, &c. Theset-nut-s G hold theleg-pieces at the required divergence. The deiiection of the lower leg relatively to the thighis regulated by the swinging curved ratchet-bar Y, which engages in the loop W of the pendant X, which is secured at its upper end to the portion E of the leg-extension. The same device is applied to theextension portion for each limb.

The back-support I, as has been observed, is

a detachable portion of the apparatus, and is y only designed for use in operationswhich require a certain amount ot' elevation of the body of the patient, such as the one I have before adverted to, and others where the seat of the disease or wound requires the presentation of the posteriors of the patient to the operator.`

The required inclination of this back-support .is given by means ofthe clamp-block b, which ,slides in the middle opening of the back-piece vided wihdevices for vertical adjustments, substantially as described. A

2. 'lhe laterally-adjustable leg extension by means of the pivot-joint; F, to support the leg in its laterally-deflected position.

3. In combination with Jhe table B, the hinged back-support I J, with its device for vertical adjustment, substantially as described.

THoMAs MCILROY.

Witnesses:

C. D. SMITH, Oe'rnvlps KNIGHT. 

